Civilian

 

The new hotel that opened in Hell’s Kitchen on 24 November 2021 is special in many ways (as you’ll shortly see).  Nothing about this enterprise, owned by hotelier Jason Pomeranc (b. 1971), designed by Gene Kaufman (b. 1958), with architect and award-winning Broadway set designer David Rockwell (b. 1956) as the interior designer, is more peculiar than its name: Civilian. 

First, I haven’t been able to learn why it’s called Civilian.  Pomeranc is designated “Creator of the CIVILIAN brand,” but I don’t know what that means.  Are there more Civilian hotels around?  Will there be?  And, still, why “Civilian”?

When I first came to New York City, I took classes at HB Studio.  One of my teachers there was director Aaron Frankel (1921-2018), who used to call non-theater people “civilians”—sort of like “muggles” . . . but somehow I doubt that Pomeranc or Rockwell picked up on that.

The closest I can come to some kind of invocation of a point to the inn’s name is the statement on its website that “CIVILIAN gives outsiders the chance to mingle with the who’s who of Manhattan’s creative scene.”  It’s not all that revelatory, but I suppose it’s a clue.

(There are also a couple of references such as one to a bar in the hotel as “a place for ‘civilians’ to mingle,” but I still don’t know what Pomeranc might mean by the word in his context.)

Even leaving the connotation of the name aside—and I don’t really want to because it’s too curious a choice—what to call the hotel is apparently in doubt.  Among the various write-ups I read, some call it “the Civilian” (or even “The Civilian”); others call it “Hotel Civilian,” “Civilian Hotel,” or “Civilian NYC.” 

(Pomeranc did promise, “We’re actively working on sites in several major U.S. cities.  We believe this concept is the new frontier of hospitality from an industry and guest perspective.”  He didn’t indicate, however, that any new hotel based on the same model will also be named Civilian.)

The source of the decisive answer to what to call this new hostelry should be its own website (www.civilianhotel.com); I believe in letting people, countries, communities, and companies decide for themselves what others should call them.  Civilianhotel.com chooses “Civilian”—no “the,” no “hotel,” no “NYC,” just plain “Civilian.” 

I find that a little awkward, at least while it’s new—but that’s the little dear’s decision.  Anyway, if the hotel works out and becomes a popular spot to stay, eat, or just hang out, it can call itself whatever it wants, and no one will carp (much).  So, let’s wait and see.

Civilian is the undertaking of Pomeranc’s Sixty Collective and the Rockwell Group.  Located at 305 W. 48th Street (west of 8th Avenue), it has 27 stories and 203 rooms.  Civilian’s main entrance on the north side of 48th is a black canopy protruding over the sidewalk from the red brick façade, emblazoned with the name of the hotel.

The 303-foot tower above the brick façade is clad in a mixture of floor-to-ceiling glass and opaque, dark gray paneling covering up the blank concrete walls.  The lower part of the structure, which, constructed of reclaimed bricks to look like a restored older building, is five stories, with the four upper floors pierced by four tall, slim, open arches. 

Above the ground floor, the structure’s façade sits several feet in front of the actual front wall of the brick building, which is set back from the street outside for a feeling of retreat.  On the other hand, the front wall of the first-floor restaurant and lounge has a huge, multi-paned window that encourages street-scene watching and opens onto a sidewalk terrace furnished with potted trees, dining tables, and lighting fixtures.

“I look at the hotel’s design very cinematically,” emphasizes Pomeranc; “I like to create vignettes and little reveals behind each corner.”

According to several architectural reports, the Civilian building covers over 73,000 square feet of area, with more than 59,000 square feet devoted to guest rooms.  (That leaves about 14,000 square feet for mechanicals and service areas as well as guest amenities.)

I don’t know how that stacks up against other New York City hostelries, but Pomeranc has asserted that “the rooms are more petite than what we’ve done in the past.”  That seems to mean 150 square feet for what Civilian designates a “Cozy” (“small yet luxurious,” furnished with a queen-sized bed or two twins) and 260 square feet for a “Spacious” (with a king, queen, or two doubles).

Several reviewers of the new inn have called it a “boutique” hotel, but I’m not sure what that signifies.  I gather the definition is flexible.  Wikipedia defines one as “a small hotel which typically has between 10 and 100 rooms in settings with upscale accommodations and individualized unique selling points (USPs).”  Civilian, of course, is over twice that maximum capacity, but fits the other criteria.  (We’ll see about the USP‘s momentarily; I’m saving them for later in the post.)

The website Les Boutique Hotels, which admonishes, “There is no strict definition when it comes to describing boutique hotels,” says a boutique hotel is “a small, stylish hotel, usually located in a fashionable location in the city’s urban district.”  That fits more-or-less . . . if you accept Hell’s Kitchen as a “fashionable location.”  Wiktionary, however, just says one’s a “small hotel in settings with upscale accommodations and individualized unique selling points,” which covers Civilian.

The interior of the brick structure features exposed, used red brick, like the exterior, and wood paneling.  In general, the look is that of the backstage areas of an older theater—a mainstay of the decorative theme for Civilian that I’ll get to shortly.

Next to the entrance on the ground floor is a lounge and bar and outside in the rear is a “secret” garden.  (The press report says the garden’s “accessed only from a concealed entry point”—but didn’t say from whom it’s concealed.) 

Above the lounge is a second-floor terrace and the Rosevale Restaurant & Cocktail Room, specializing in comfort food.  It’s a modern interpretation of a classic Theatre District diner, featuring a curved, ribbed leather ceiling with mirror panels, red leather banquettes, and brass accents.

There’s also a roof-top deck with a second, enclosed bar and lounge on the 27th floor of the tower with panoramic views of Hell’s Kitchen and New York City’s West Side all the way to the Hudson River down to Hudson Yards at 41st Street and the West Side Highway.  It’s inspired by “the whimsical rooftop gardens of historic Broadway theatres where summer shows were held.”

(Roof-top garden theaters became common at the turn-of-the-century Gilded Age in New York City, meant to replicate the garden theaters of Europe.  There was no space for garden theaters in Manhattan, however, so theater-owners decided to move them up to the theater’s rooves.  Thus was born the roof-top garden where entertainment seekers could find acrobats, Russian swans, monkeys, and cows appearing amidst grottoes, waterfalls, duck ponds, vine-wrapped arches, and pagodas.

(They started with the Casino Theatre, built by Rudolph Aronson at 39th and Broadway, which opened in 1883 and went on to include Stanford White’s Madison Square Garden on 23rd Street, opened in 1892, and Oscar Hammerstein I’s Olympia Theatre, an entire city block at 44th and Broadway, which opened in 1896, and his Paradise Roof Garden, 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, which opened in 1901.)

The hotel’s room sizes notwithstanding, Pomeranc declares, “CIVILIAN is about bringing affordable luxury to the next generation of business and leisure travelers.”  The hotelier insists, “The quality level should not diminish because of the room size.”  The inn’s website touts: “At CIVILIAN, we believe luxury design should be for everyone.”

“I don’t believe that the guest should have to sacrifice anything on a visual or textual experience, whether it’s the rich velvets from the fabrics or the tile in the bathroom or the quality of sheets and linens and pillows,” says Pomeranc.  

The guest rooms are decorated in “darker tones and tactile surfaces like lacquered woods and velvet to create a New York ambiance,” says Pomeranc.  They have “hand-painted details, four-poster beds, [and] upholstered benches.”  The bathrooms have glazed porcelain sinks and are equipped with heated floors.

Room prices at Civilian range from $160 a night up, depending on the date(s) booked and the amenities and extras a guest selects.  The new hotel offers what it dubs “Customization” for the guest’s stay: “Everything you want and nothing you don’t need.”  The “Basic,” “Essential,” and “Inclusive” tiers allow guests to choose their preferred way to stay, with the addition that they can always add extra amenities based on their needs.

(It may interest prospective guests that Civilian is also pet-friendly and offers several levels of pet accommodation.  Check the website for details: https://www.civilianhotel.com/faq.)

And, now those USP’s—the “unique selling points”:

This is what caught my attention—and why this article is posted on Rick On Theater—when I saw the news report on WCBS-TV (Channel 2 in New York City) at the end of its 5 p.m. broadcast on Wednesday, 2 March.  It was a segment on the CBS 2 News feature “Broadway and Beyond.” 

The anchor, Maurice DuBois, introduced the report:

When you think of Broadway, maybe you imagine taking in a great show and a dinner, with a stroll through Shubert Alley.

CBS2’s Dave Carlin has more on a new hotel where you can immerse yourself in theatricality.

Civilian, in fact, is inspired by the neighborhood in which it’s located: the Theatre District.  It’s steps from Times Square with the Theatre Development Fund’s TKTS discount booth (in Duffy Square, the triangle formed by W. 47th, Broadway, and 7th Avenue) and up 48th Street from the Walter Kerr Theatre (Hadestown – 2019 Best Musical) and the Longacre (Macbeth with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga, directed by Sam Gold – previews start 29 March, opens 28 April).  The décor is thoroughly Broadway-themed.

Civilian, writes Rebecca King on northjersey.com, “is a celebration of old-time Broadway, dressed by Broadway insiders.”  I described the entry to the hotel as a canopy, but it’s really a miniature theater marquee.  The hotel’s name flashing from it is the “theater’s” designation.  The entrance resembles the stage door of a vintage theater.  King dubbed it “the most Broadway of Broadway hotels.”

Inside the stage-door entry is the hotel’s lobby, which looks like a classic theater’s back of house (except spiffier), a feeling that’s enhanced by the marquee-style lighting in the ceiling.  The lobby’s all dark-stained wood and there are even old-style wooden theater seats against the walls for guests waiting to register. 

A spiral iron staircase leads up to the second floor just like one back stage that might go up to the second level of dressing rooms.  The stairway is dramatically draped in a curtain that could have covered the proscenium opening of a Broadway house.

The guest rooms are reminiscent of dressing rooms in a theater—except better appointed.  (They are painted, for instance, in either deep blue or wine-maroon with hand-painted details—not features of most theater dressing rooms.)  

The pillows on the beds are covered in fabrics imprinted with abstract patterns by costume designers Jeff Mahshie (Tony-nominated for 2016’s She Loves Me) and David Zinn (Tony-nominated for 2018’s SpongeBob SquarePants, 2017’s A Doll's House, Part 2, 2015’s Airline Highway, 2015’s Fun Home, and 2010’s In the Next Room).  The walls are adorned with framed costume and set renderings.

The wallpaper in the elevators has also been created by costume designers such as Isabel and Ruben Toledo (After Midnight, 2014 Tony nominee) and William Ivey Long (Hairspray, 2003 Tony winner, and Beetlejuice, 2019 Tony nominee) from abstractions of their costume creations. 

There are theater photographs everywhere in Civilian, including in the lobby where are displayed the opening-night portraits of Little Fang (the professional name of Manchester, New Hampshire-based husband-and-wife photographers Lindsey and Adam Brisbine).

The art in the hallways of Civilian is grouped around a different theme on each floor.  On the fourth floor, for example, are rehearsal photos of Michael Bennett (1943-87) at Dreamgirls (1981-85; 6 Tonys and 7 other nominations, including Best Musical) and the cast of Miss Saigon (1991-2001; 3 Tonys and 8 additional nominations).

Elsewhere in Civilian, including the main bar, all the hallways, and each of the guest rooms, are other theater memorabilia and ephemera.  This is the Olio Collection, a curated display of works by theatrical artists that Rockwell assembled with Tony-winning Hamilton costume designer Paul Tazewell.  Contemporary artifacts come from shows like Hamilton (replica guns and a crown), Cabaret (a pink “shrug”), Wicked, and Kinky Boots (the iconic thigh-high red boots). 

(In addition to the 2016 award for Hamilton, Tazewell was nominated for Tonys for Ain’t Too Proud, 2019; A Streetcar Named Desire, 2012; Memphis, 2010; In the Heights, 2008; The Color Purple, 2006; and Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk, 1996.) 

The collection represents over 350 pieces of art, including sketches, models, photos, costume pieces, and props from a century of theater history, such as historic photographs of the Stage Door Canteen (1942-46) and posters for the Stage Women’s War Relief (founded in 1917, the predecessor of the American Theatre Wing).

In Rosevale are set models from shows such as Hadestown (scenic design by Rachel Hauck, 2019 Tony), Slave Play (scenic design by Clint Ramos, 2020 Tony nomination), Moulin Rouge! (scenic design by Derek McLane, 2020 Tony), and Chicken & Biscuits (scenic design by Lawrence E. Moten III).  Rockwell intends to work with emerging and established “makers” of theater, the design artists, costumers, photographers—the folks among whom he’s worked in productions—to create a rotating exhibit of theater artifacts with new displays being swapped out for previous ones.

Pomeranc even hired a Broadway press firm, Rick Miramontez’s DKC/O&M, to help build a connection to the theater industry.  (The current Broadway productions for which Miramontez’s company handles publicity and press relations are Plaza Suite, The Music Man, MJ The Musical, Company, Hadestown, Dear Evan Hansen, and To Kill a Mockingbird.)  “We know our Broadway colleagues will find [Civilian] a worthy and wonderful new clubhouse,” says Miramontez.

In the restaurant are featured 41 round wall sconces decorated with sketches of Broadway houses by set designers such as Derek McLane (Tonys for Moulin Rouge! and 33 Variations, 2009; Tony nominations for A Soldier's Play, 2020, Anything Goes, 2011, and Ragtime, 2010), Es Devlin (Tony nominations for American Psycho, 2016, and Machinal, 2014), Scott Pask (Tonys for The Book of Mormon, 2011, The Coast of Utopia, 2007. and The Pillowman, 2005; nominations for Pal Joey, 2009, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses, 2008), Tony Walton (Tonys for Guys and Dolls, 1992, The House of Blue Leaves, 1986, and Pippin, 1973, and nominations for Uncle Vanya, 2000, Steel Pier, 1997, She Loves Me, 1994, The Will Rogers Follies, 1991, Grand Hotel, 1990, Lend Me a Tenor, 1989, Anything Goes, 1988, The Front Page, 1987, The Real Thing, 1984, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, 1980, and Chicago, 1976), Mimi Lien (Tony for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, 2017), and Rockwell himself (Tony for She Loves Me, 2016, and nominations for On the Twentieth Century, 2015, You Can't Take It With You, 2015, Kinky Boots, 2014, Lucky Guy, 2013, and Hairspray, 2003).

(British-born Tony Walton, b. 1934, died earlier this month at 87.  In addition to his set designs, he also designed costumes—he was nominated for costume Tonys for Anything Goes in 1988 and The Apple Tree in 1967.  Married to actress Julie Andrews, his teenage sweetheart, from 1959 to 1968, he was nominated for a 1965 Academy Award for his costumes in the Andrews vehicle Mary Poppins.  He was nominated for several other costume or set-decoration Oscars and shared the award for set decoration in 1980 with three other artists for All That Jazz.  Walton also shared an Emmy for art direction with two others in 1986 for Death of a Salesman.)

The bulk of the Olio Collection (I don’t know where the name comes from) is displayed in large vitrines set in walls of the second-floor Library, also known as the Blue Room because of the royal-blue leather upholstery on the chairs and banquettes and the wall-covering of the same hue.  (The Blue Room is also available for business meetings for clients of Civilian.)

Says interior designer Rockwell,

The Olio Collection is a visual celebration of Broadway and the theatrical art form . . . .  I’ve been lucky enough to work with an incredible team of co-curators, all Broadway designers of different disciplines, to create this vast and ever-changing collection.  The Olio Collection was our way of ensuring that a layer of authentic theatricality was incorporated into the hotel’s DNA from a design perspective.  One of the things that makes the theater so special is how ephemeral it is.  A performance only exists for a single moment in time; once a show closes, it’s gone forever.  I really like the idea of giving all of this work a bit of permanence.

“Part of the intention is to bring in the theater community, the makers,” says Rockwell.  He’s talking about the artists and craftspeople who do the physical work of “making” the show, not the ones who perform in it.  “I knew that that’s what I wanted to do for a living,” recalls the designer-architect.  “I wanted to create places that brought people together,” he continues.  “I was more like the person who made the show.  I wasn’t as interested being . . . in the show . . . .”

“I’m always amazed when I work on a project and there’s a moment in the show when you realize 25 people touch that moment to make it work,” he explains.  He calls those people, the costume and set designers, prop-makers and wig-makers, the scores of professional fabricators, “makers.”  “So,” says Rockwell, “in some ways, this is a chance [for outsiders] to be exposed to all of those different people.”

(I want to note here that on ROT I’ve made a practice of spotlighting many of those same professionals—along with other theater pros who do jobs that few theatergoers know about or even see.  I’ve run articles on a wig-maker, costume designers, set designers, sound designers, lighting designers, and a theater photographer.  I won’t cross-reference them here, but readers can look them up with the blog’s search engine.)

Rockwell, who aside from accolades as a scenic designer is also responsible for the ambience of many restaurants, clubs, hotels, theaters, and other projects around the country, acknowledges, “This hotel links my two greatest passions, which is theater and hospitality.”  

Civilian’s interior designer “envisioned a new home and ad hoc clubhouse to serve the needs of New York’s creative corps of performers, designers, directors, producers, and writers,” promises the Rockwell Group’s website.  “It’s also a place where outsiders in the know can rub shoulders with those who inspire them, and immerse themselves in Broadway and all of its micro-worlds.”

Civilian plans to donate a portion of its revenues to the American Theatre Wing, the nonprofit organization that supports theater and, with the Broadway League, presents the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, to help in its mission of support for the creatives affected by COVID. 

The hotel is looking to forge a long-term partnership with ATW, which supplied many of the historic photos from its archives.  ATW President and CEO Heather Hitchens declares, “A place for theater people to gather that also showcases and celebrates the work of those who don’t always get the attention they deserve” is sorely needed.

With the guidance of Hitchens and Miramontez, Pomeranc is hoping to make Civilian a spot for members of the theater community to gather for photo shoots, interviews, and parties.  The hotelier wants theater folk to think of Civilian as their place, recommending it to other theater people when they come to New York City.  From this description, advisedly the product of DKC/O&M’s efforts, it sounds like Pomeranc and Rockwell have made a good start, but we’ll have to wait a while to see if they succeed.